Beyond "meaningless work": The art of Walter de Maria, 1960--1977
Item
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Title
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Beyond "meaningless work": The art of Walter de Maria, 1960--1977
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:3ae492bdc513:11088
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identifier
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10909
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Creator
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Theodore, Molleen,
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Contributor
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Anna Chave
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Date
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2010
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Art history | conceptualism | De Maria | Dia | installation | land art | minimalism
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Abstract
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This dissertation investigates the work of the American artist Walter De Maria (b. 1935). De Maria is known predominately through photographs of his sculptural land work, The Lightning Field (1977), but the breadth and complexity of De Maria's practice has not received sustained critical scrutiny. I consider De Maria's writings, including his would-be manifesto "Meaningless Work" (1960), drawings, wood boxes, steel sculptures, installations, land works, music, film, and photography projects, as well as his connection to the development of minimal art, conceptual art, and land art, and his relationship to his collectors and patrons. By examining the many facets of De Maria's production and reception and by focusing on work from the 1960s and 1970s, this dissertation deepens the current understanding of his practice during the time of its development and articulation. Additionally, through detailed archival research, this study moves away from the personal and anecdotal treatments De Maria's work has received thus far and toward an understanding of his practice contextualized in its time.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Art History
